Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four

Love the remodel JP.

I still have house guests.

Tomorrow they leave.

Remember the Chinese proverb?

Was it something about 3 days and fish? (giggle!) or is that another one?

My old crotchety great-uncle said that... Fish, and houseguests, stink after three days. From what I remember, he truly meant it! You didn't cross old Uncle Cappy.

Thanks all, for the comments on the remodel. We spent a lot of time designing, with the help of a professional designer of course. Many hours of looking around and lots of choices to make. You always worry about how things will come together but we're pretty happy with the end result!

Jeff, the sinks came from an online store. Chris happened upon them while browsing for ideas. We loved them and kind of built the rest of the color scheme around them. They are the last two of their kind that were available, and that model is now discontinued. So, some anxious moments while they were being shipped and then stored for months. Had one been broken, back to the drawing board!

The faucets are by Brizo. They make beautiful stuff! We also have one on our kitchen sink. I did that one by myself. [emoji1]

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The posts reminded me of the time that Hans Christian Andersen visited Charles Dickens and wouldn't leave. A letter written by Dickens about the visit was auctioned recently. He eventually had to tell him to leave after five weeks, but how described him and his habits was pure Dickens.

Hi everyone, my first day back to work went very well:)......the food looks delicious, as always:)

Lots of great activity at the Cooler!! J.P.'s remodeling success, Lois being back at work, nice food shots, etc. Loved the story from Tothesunset about his wife at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. Our first full day here went well. Saw a great Temple involving all three religions in China, plus the different flower, bird and ladies' markets, etc. Plus, they have a great, efficient, busy subway system here. Lots to share, but limited time. Below are a few quick visual samples.

Yes, the "smiles" say clearly saying that we are enjoying our first visit to Southeast Asia.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean adventure that started in Barbados, here is the link for that live/blog. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.):

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 54,915 views for these postings.

From our Hong Kong Temple and market visits, here are some quick visual samples. Yes, interesting and fun! Lots of shopping "opportunities", people, activity and excitement in Hong Kong with its nearly eight million people. With my wife in the third picture is our expert guide Amy Overy. She's been here for ten years after growing up in the UK.:

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Fabulous photos! And those orchids....mmmmmm! Just beautiful

Glad to hear Lois survived day one!

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I am a very infrequent participant on this thread though I do lurk daily. I have a plea, do we have to have quite so many sprout photos? I have only just recovered from the trauma of Christmas lunch...

Rp

Evening All....

RP........think our Jeffers is using up the ton of sprouts he bought for Christmas......worry not we'll soon be back to peas....Spins likes peas 😉

Glad to hear Lois is doing well back at work....

JP your bathroom looks amazing....you must be so delighted with the result of all the hard work.......still on the basic side here but it's all going well......have another design company in next week to throw some more bedroom ideas around.......😊

To satisfy our newest cooler (welcome, Rosepark). Last night's dinner contained no sprouts!

Orange-glazed shrimp. Orange juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce cooked down until thick, then poured over shrimp. Easy and tasty. Served with an Alsatian Pinot Blanc.

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To satisfy our newest cooler (welcome, Rosepark). Last night's dinner contained no sprouts!

 

 

Orange-glazed shrimp. Orange juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce cooked down until thick, then poured over shrimp. Easy and tasty. Served with an Alsatian Pinot Blanc.

 

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YUMMY:D.......I love this one for sure!!!!!!!!

Just bought some shrimp today, have to try that.

Fabulous photos! And those orchids....mmmmmm! Just beautiful

Glad that you liked those orchid pictures. Lots and lots of varied orchids and other lovely flowers at their markets here in Hong Kong. Explored the main island, called Hong Kong Island, yesterday. Lots there, including mountains, harbors, spectacular buildings, etc. Our highlights included going to Victoria's Peak, riding the tram, exploring nearby areas such as Aberdeen's harbor and Stanley for its market, etc. Below are only a six of my many, many highlight samples. More to come later on the full live/blog on the River Cruising CC Board.

Getting caught up on some sleep and helping to adjust the body clock to these different time zones. Tomorrow we fly to Bangkok. Understand that is also a busy, busy city with lots of people, new buildings, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting, dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 36,693 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

We crossed from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island on the famous Star Ferry. Second is a sample of the old and new on Hong Kong Island. Lots of new, tall and dramatic architecture here and across Victoria Harbour in Kowloon.:

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Here is the view when coming down from Victoria Peak on the steep tram tracks as another car is coming up.:

The meat offered in this market is so fresh, it was actually alive in the morning before being slaughter. Then, direct to this market that offers even such unique side parts such as the tail, etc.:

In nearby Aberdeen, we enjoyed a sampan ride. We saw a mix of floating fishing villages, luxury boats, high-rises, etc. Plus, also a view of the very touristy Jumbo Floating Restaurant.:

Just bought some shrimp today, have to try that.

YES, J.P.'s shrimp looked great and tasty. Love shrimp!!! Had it last night here in Hong Kong. It was cooked with spicy Chili peppers. I like some Brussel sprouts, but I will stay out of the debate as to how many are too many. Above my pay grade.

Below is a cute dog picture from yesterday in the Stanley area that is a part of Hong Kong Island. Like?

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Panama Canal? Completed Feb. 28-Mar. 15, 2017, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco adventure through the Panama Canal with our first stops in Colombia, Central America and Mexico, plus added time in the great Golden Gate City. Lots of fun, interesting pictures!! Those visuals start on the second page, post #26. See more at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580

Yesterday in Stanley along their waterfront, these cute dogs were being "walked" by being carried in a baby carriage. Fun?:

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Morning All,

Loving the "Terrys" photos! However, the reason those poor bull dogs are in a baby carriage is because they can't breath well enough to go for an actual walk on their own. Poor creature on the left really has an issue. As a long time dog lover and mom to a JR who actually does the job he was bred to do, I think what breeders have done to various breeds is a travesty.

OK, soap box now put away....!

Shrimp DID look amazing! Also in some CC surfing, I found JP's wonderful blog of their trip....OMG! Again, fabulous pix...I'm not done with the blog yet....working my way thru, backwards! But simply terrific!

I'm off to Newport today to pooch sit for Elizabeth's and Bob's JR while they go skiing in Stowe.

Leaving John and Snitch home to guard the house....haha! Looking forward to some binge TV watching and I actually get to hold the remote!....giggle!

‘She is a canine pony. What have I done?’

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-a-58kg-rescue-dog-changed-my-life-by-jojo-moyes-39l605sp3?shareToken=4c634c07cf045e7470564b1c3bdd3273

What’s the score with “CulinaryVoyages”?

Are they as foodie orientated as the official blurb claims?

I have just found one for 2019 .... #2921 .... Europe to Iceland.

The prices are a tad off-putting but there again it is for eleven days.

Has any one done one? Opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Mike

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MBP the culinary voyages are led by the Fleet wide expert chef, David Bilsland. He is very talented and great company. There is often a wine specialist aboard too. David organises market visits in port, food demos in the Theatre or on deck and knife skill and other classes.

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What’s the score with “CulinaryVoyages”?

Are they as foodie orientated as the official blurb claims?

I have just found one for 2019 .... #2921 .... Europe to Iceland.

The prices are a tad off-putting but there again it is for eleven days.

Has any one done one? Opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Mike

MBP the culinary voyages are led by the Fleet wide expert chef, David Bilsland. He is very talented and great company. There is often a wine specialist aboard too. David organises market visits in port, food demos in the Theatre or on deck and knife skill and other classes.

MBP&O2/O: We did a culinary cruise in October/November 2017. It was nothing short of phenomenal. The number and quality of the "extras" was really unexpected and added immensely to our overall enjoyment of the cruise. I think that the food was up there with, if not the best, on any SS cruise we've taken. Everyone has a different definition of "foodie" but we really enjoyed the fresh local ingredients, prepared in different ways from what we were used to.

Extras - yes, David Bilsland is an incredibly fun person to cruise with. He added so much to the quality and variety of the food offerings. We had at least five cooking demos on our cruise. We had three other guest chefs on board; Diego from Peru, Adolfo from Chile, and Rudi who is the executive chef for SS. They all brought their own flavors and recipes, participated in the cooking demos, helped create dinner menus featuring local foods from the regions we visited, etc. Food heaven!

Other extras included a Chilean sommelier who did wine tastings and pairings, a Cheese expert who did cheese tastings with wine pairings, a couple of meals ashore which were every bit as good as those on board, a Pisco tasting, and fresh local ingredients including Chilean Sea Bass that was so good, even our vegetarian friend had a full serving.

In case you hadn't noticed, we had the time of our lives on this cruise. If you get the impression that I think it would be worth some extra cost, you are correct.

If you want to see more details, I have done a blog on this cruise which is posted on the SS boards. The cruise portion of the blog is just finished, and I'm working on some post-cruise stuff now. There are tons of details about the food and the extra food-related activities that went on during the cruise. And food pictures... :hearteyes:

57 varieties - yes on all counts. David is great.

What’s the score with “CulinaryVoyages”?

Are they as foodie orientated as the official blurb claims?

I have just found one for 2019 .... #2921 .... Europe to Iceland.

The prices are a tad off-putting but there again it is for eleven days.

Has any one done one? Opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Mike

 

 

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We were underwhelmed with the “culinary” aspect of our Transatlantic cruise last summer. It was okay, and Chef David did lead culinary buying expeditions into Cork and Belfast, but he left the ship in Iceland, so the rest of the voyage was fruit cutting demonstrations and the like.

The group was quite large, so it wasn’t as immersive as the literature may lead you to believe. Pushier passengers might have had a better experience as they could elbow their way to the front.

I would say it was entertaining, but I wouldn’t select a cruise just because of that aspect. Go for the itinerary you want, and consider the rest a bonus.

If you are of a culinary nature, you will not want to miss the galley tour though, conducted usually by the ship’s executive chef. We found that very interesting!

Edit: the food onboard was delicious and that, and the service level, is why we pick SS

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Gotta try those shrimp! Some of the best recipes are dead simple. The best appetizers ever?... wrap large bay scallops in bacon strips, pin with a toothpick and broil. Don't buy expensive seafood cocktail sauce; mix a dollop of horseradish into ketchup and add a squeeze of lemon juice. :)

Following Terry's SE Asia adventures with interest. Great pics so far! Keep it up.

Frustrating three-and-a-half hours yesterday dealing with the Chinese banking system. I leave for Vietnam on Wednesday... and wanted to close my Chinese bank account, withdraw the maximum amount of cash legal to take out of China and make an electronic money transfer of the remainder to my Canadian bank. No problem... except I got a new passport last spring. It has a different number than the one I used to open the account six years ago. The Chinese don't understand that Canadian passport numbers change. To make a very long, complicated story short, after having my bank card 'eaten' by a machine and refused cash by a real person teller... and going to three different branches, I got my card back... but NO cash and NO electronic transfer. I'm going to try again today. Wish me luck. :rolleyes:

Morning All, Loving the "Terrys" photos! However, the reason those poor bull dogs are in a baby carriage is because they can't breath well enough to go for an actual walk on their own. Poor creature on the left really has an issue. As a long time dog lover and mom to a JR who actually does the job he was bred to do, I think what breeders have done to various breeds is a travesty.

Appreciate this great background and follow-up from Mudhen. Yes, I learned something new today. Very helpful. There were two different baby carriages and six dogs in total.

Getting ready for a 9:10 am flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok. It's only a three-hour and ten-minute flight. Not too bad compared the 15-hours from Chicago to arrive in Hong Kong.

Below are a few brief, added visual samples from Hong Kong. Like the city lots, but ready to move for more and different sights, sounds and samples.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 194,531 views for this posting.

Lots of night action in Hong Kong!! First, some folks sampling the "street food". Second is one of my treats when we dined at a luxury location at the 30th floor level offering great service, food and views. Finally, a variety of the views last night of the Hong Kong Harbor and their amazing lights, including of a cruise ship arriving here in Victoria's Harbour.:

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Greetings Coolers! 5F here this morning.

Have a great day all!

Oh boy, Mysty. I hate it when I forget to close the snowroof... ;p

Work today then a weekend off. We are having dinner and a movie up in Saratoga tonight I think. That's always a fun little getaway. Tons of great places to dine and drink.

Then home for the weekend, probably doing some cleaning, and finishing the move back from the guest suite to our new master suite. We were going to delay the move until this weekend, but we actually got ambitious and moved our furniture back there Wednesday night. It only took an hour and now we're enjoying our new setup. We just have to finish moving some stuff back but that should be easy now.

Bill... bacon-wrapped scallops are the bomb. I'm craving them ever since I read your post. They are so good!

Have a great weekend all!